The Critical Role of Education in Indian Public Policy

India is home to one of the world’s largest youth populations, and what happens inside its classrooms has consequences far beyond individual learners. Education is not simply a social service the government provides – it is a deliberate act of national policy. When the state decides how much to spend on schools, who gets access to higher education, and what skills the workforce should carry, those decisions shape the country’s economic trajectory, social fabric, and global standing. Understanding why education occupies such a central place in Indian public policy means understanding the inseparable link between learning and national development.

What does it mean for education to be a public policy priority? 🔗

Public policy is the government’s deliberate framework of decisions and actions aimed at achieving defined national goals. When education becomes a key area within that framework, it shifts from being merely a service to becoming a strategic national investment. In India, this is reflected at the most foundational level – the Constitution itself. Article 21-A, inserted through the 86th Amendment in 2002, makes free and compulsory education a Fundamental Right for all children between the ages of six and fourteen. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, gave this provision its legal teeth.

Education also figures under the Concurrent List of the Constitution, which means both the Central government and state governments share responsibility for shaping and implementing education policy. This federal arrangement explains why the performance of the education sector often varies so dramatically across Indian states – what gets funded and prioritized at the state level matters as much as national policy directives.

Education and national development: the core argument 🔗

The rationale for treating education as a public policy priority rests on well-documented evidence. Research consistently shows a positive relationship between educational attainment and economic growth, with a strong correlation between education quality and increases in GDP per capita. The World Bank identifies education as one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality, and emphasizes that ensuring access to quality education – particularly for poor and rural populations – is central to India’s economic and social development.

India’s own trajectory bears this out. At Independence in 1947, the country’s literacy rate stood below 18.3%. Today it exceeds 77%. India’s improved education system is consistently cited as one of the key contributors to its economic development, with much of the progress in higher education and scientific research credited to public institutions.

Education as an economic driver 🔗

An educated workforce is the engine of a productive economy. It generates innovation, raises worker output, and allows the country to absorb and adapt foreign technology. India’s growth in the services sector – which now accounts for a major share of its GDP – is directly tied to its expanding pool of technically trained graduates. The Ministry of Education acknowledges that citizens are India’s most valuable resource, and that building strong foundations in education is central to achieving better quality of life across the population.

The stakes of underinvestment are concrete. An educated workforce drives productivity and innovation, while gaps in education translate directly into gaps in economic competitiveness. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 explicitly frames education as the path toward making India a global knowledge superpower – a country capable of contributing to and competing in the 21st-century knowledge economy.

Education as a tool for social equity 🔗

Beyond economics, education serves a critical social function. NEP 2020 identifies education as the greatest leveler – the best tool available for achieving economic and social mobility, inclusion, and equality. This is particularly significant in India, where caste, class, gender, and geography have historically determined access to opportunity.

The 1986 National Policy on Education called for special emphasis on removing disparities and equalizing educational opportunity, particularly for women, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes. That commitment has been carried forward in successive policies through programmes like Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, the National Programme for Education of Girls at the Elementary Level, and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.

Improving education is also critical for achieving SDG-4 – the UN Sustainable Development Goal that calls for inclusive and equitable quality education for all by 2030. India’s education policy commitments are increasingly shaped by these global frameworks.

A brief history of education policy in India 🔗

India’s approach to education as public policy has evolved through several distinct phases since Independence. The government established major commissions – the University Education Commission (1948-49), the Secondary Education Commission (1952-53), and the landmark Kothari Commission (1964-66) – to develop proposals for modernizing the education system. The Kothari Commission’s recommendations led to the first National Policy on Education in 1968, which called for a radical restructuring of the system and proposed equal educational opportunities across the country.

The 1986 policy introduced the concept of Operation Blackboard to improve primary schools and expanded the open university system. It was revised in 1992 under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. Then, after more than three decades, NEP 2020 was introduced – the first major education policy of the 21st century – replacing the 1986 framework and aiming to address the rapidly evolving needs of a digital and globalizing world.

NEP 2020 is built on five guiding pillars: Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability, and Accountability. It proposes sweeping changes from early childhood education through higher education, including a new 5+3+3+4 school structure, multidisciplinary undergraduate programmes, an Academic Bank of Credits, a National Research Foundation, and a stronger focus on foundational literacy and numeracy.

Government expenditure on education: where India stands 🔗

Policy intent only matters if it is backed by financial commitment. This is where India faces one of its most persistent challenges. The Union Budget allocation for education has grown steadily – rising from ₹1.04 lakh crore in 2022-23 to ₹1.20 lakh crore in 2024-25, a jump of over 51% compared to 2018-19. However, overall education spending continues to fall short of the 6% of GDP target recommended by both the Kothari Commission in 1964 and reaffirmed by NEP 2020.

Between 2015 and 2024, India allocated approximately 4.1% to 4.6% of its GDP to education, according to a UNESCO report. This places India within the international benchmark range recommended by the UN Education 2030 Framework for Action (4-6% of GDP) and above several neighbouring countries. The same UNESCO data shows that India’s government expenditure on education during this period constituted between 13.5% and 17.2% of total public spending – meeting the Education 2030 target of allocating 15-20% of public funds to education.

Yet the picture is more complicated when Central and state spending are considered together. For comparison, the US allocated 6% of GDP to education in 2023, China allocated 6.13%, and Japan invested 7.43% – all exceeding India’s current levels. NEP 2020’s 6% GDP target thus represents not just an aspirational benchmark, but a practical necessity if India is to achieve the transformation the policy envisions.

The cost of underinvestment 🔗

Scholars have raised concerns that developed nations allocate as much as 20% of their GDP toward education, and that India would need to significantly increase expenditure to align its education sector with global standards. The proposed changes in NEP 2020 – new infrastructure, digital resources, modernized institutions, and teacher training – all demand sustained and substantial investment. Without it, the gap between policy design and policy delivery remains a persistent problem.

The RISE Programme at Oxford points out that a fundamental challenge for Indian education is reorienting the system from one focused on sorting students to one focused on human development that improves learning for all. This requires not just financial investment, but a commitment to measuring outcomes rigorously and evaluating what actually works.

Key challenges that make education central to public policy 🔗

Several ground-level realities explain why education demands continued and intensified policy attention in India.

The learning crisis: Over 95% of children aged 6 to 14 are now in school, but nearly half of students in grade 5 in rural areas cannot read at a grade 2 level, and less than one-third can perform basic division. Enrollment without learning is a hollow achievement.

Higher education access: While more than 95% of children attend primary school, access drops sharply at the secondary level, with only about 40% of Indian adolescents in grades 9-12. The gross enrolment ratio in higher education stands at around 26%, against NEP 2020’s target of 50% by 2035.

Inequality across social groups: Growing income inequality has widened educational gaps, with caste and gender discrimination continuing to affect attainment. Policy responses must go beyond expanding access to actively dismantling structural barriers.

The digital divide: Technology-driven reforms in NEP 2020 face a significant obstacle – digital infrastructure remains uneven, particularly in rural India, as the COVID-19 pandemic starkly exposed. Bridging this divide is itself a public policy imperative.

Why education cannot be left to the market alone 🔗

One reason education must remain a central area of public policy is the market’s inherent limitations in delivering equitable access. Private education concentrates quality in areas and among populations that can afford it. Public-private partnerships need to be expanded, but they must be built on a foundation of strong public investment and regulation. The government remains the largest provider of school education in India, with 80% of all recognised elementary schools either government-run or government-supported.

NEP 2020 connects education to the development of foundational skills and competences that allow citizens to participate fully in society – reducing socio-cultural disadvantages and unemployment. It also highlights the need for adult education frameworks and lifelong learning, recognizing that education is not confined to childhood but is a continuous national investment.

The policy framework across India’s history – from the Kothari Commission to the Right to Education Act to NEP 2020 – consistently reflects one overriding conviction: that education is too important to national development to be left unguided by deliberate, well-funded public policy. Every year of quality schooling builds human capital. Every rupee invested wisely in education returns value across health outcomes, civic participation, economic productivity, and social stability. The question for India today is not whether education matters – that case is settled – but whether its financial commitments and implementation frameworks will rise to match the ambition of its stated goals.

What do you think? Given that India’s education spending as a percentage of GDP has remained below the 6% target recommended since the 1960s, what structural changes in government budgeting would make it possible to finally close that gap? And with NEP 2020 emphasizing both foundational learning and lifelong skill development, how should states balance their limited resources between strengthening school education and expanding access to higher and vocational education?

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Policy_on_Education
2. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2022.871043/full
3. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2011/09/20/education-in-india
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_India
5. https://www.education.gov.in/en/nep/about-nep
6. https://www.nextias.com/blog/education-sector-in-india/
7. https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf
8. https://educationforallinindia.com/national-policy-of-education/
9. https://www.business-standard.com/education/news/union-budget-2025-education-allocation-growth-global-comparison-125020600340_1.html
10. https://www.theresearchers.us/2024/10/24/india-allocates-up-to-4-6-of-gdp-to-education-surpassing-many-regional-countries-unesco-report/
11. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440241279367
12. https://riseprogramme.org/publications/indias-new-national-education-policy-evidence-and-challenges.html
13. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abf6655
14. https://www.uil.unesco.org/en/articles/india-national-education-policy